


Incandescent

by bittlebarnes (monroesherlock)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic), Runaways (Comics), Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: But he's trying, Honesty, LITERALLY, M/M, Marriage Proposal, accepting that your boyfriend's from another planet, also figuratively, bitty's an alien, difficult conversations, hard choices, having his parents accept you, he glows, jack isn't perfect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 14:17:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13389579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monroesherlock/pseuds/bittlebarnes
Summary: Sometimes Bitty shimmers in his sleep. His glow is almost dimmer at night but it’s enough to wake Jack up.Or:The AU where Bitty's an alien.





	Incandescent

**Author's Note:**

> I started an AU on tumblr of Bitty with Karolina Dean's powers from the Runaways comics (and subsequent tv series) and it kinda spiraled from there. You can visit my blog (link below) to see art and scream about that AU with me if you like.

Sometimes Bitty shimmers in his sleep. His glow is always dimmer at night but it’s enough to wake Jack. It happens more often now that everything’s out in the open between them. Jack wakes up to low flickering lights, deep violets, and dazzling blues, the room around them literally illuminated by Bitty’s warm glow. Bitty’s dreaming, Jack realizes. He’s dim so it must not be something too taxing or there’d be a disco in their bedroom. He shuffles closer to him, allows himself to be bathed in Bitty’s soft light.

 

Jack wonders how he got here. 

 

It starts like this:

 

“I’m allergic to latex, honey,” Bitty explains as he points to the simple, silver chain encircling his left wrist. “It’s so if I get taken to the hospital, they know not to use latex gloves. And well, playing hockey, that’s a real thing that can happen.” It’s said with a smile and so Jack forgets. Forgets about the medical bracelet Bitty literally  _ never _ takes off. Not during practice, during a shower, during - well, some things can be overlooked. It’s a constant part of him, something Jack eventually learns to ignore.

Other things, however, are harder to miss.

Like the fact that Jack's never met Bitty’s father. He’s interacted with Suzanne a number of times, has noted the same bracelet on her wrist.

“He travels for work a lot, Sweetheart. Overseas.” Bitty tells him over dinner one night when Jack asks. “He knows about you and he really wants to get to know you. You’ll get to meet him eventually. Promise.” That should be enough, Jack thinks. It’s a reasonable explanation.

And yet something keeps nagging him.

Like how there are no photos of Bitty as a child. Not in their shared apartment. Not in his home in Madison. Nowhere. He coos over Jack’s ugly baby photos, loves looking at old photos of Bob and Alicia but when Jack asks about his own childhood, he freezes up.

“I’ll have to ask my mom if she still has anything but she’s never been one to keep up with things.” Bitty’s smile doesn’t quite meet his eyes. That sounds funny to Jack's ears.

“Not every family is like ours, Jack.” His mother reminds him. It doesn't alleviate the worry that he's missing something important.

\--

“I want you to marry me,” Jack says one day. They’re lying in bed together, enjoying the quiet. 

Bitty turns slightly to look Jack in the face. “Really?” He whispers. 

Jack sits up, leans back against the headboard, and pulls Bitty to him. “Really. I love you, Eric. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you.”

Bitty bites his lip, fiddles with his bracelet, and sucks in a deep breath. “Jack, I wanna...I wanna show you something. I feel like it’s important before I give you an answer.”

That’s...not what Jack was expecting. He watches as Bitty slowly reaches for his wrist, unsnaps his bracelet, and then…. he's  _ glowing _ . Literally glowing. Like a damn lava lamp. 

Jack saw the aurora borealis once as a child. He stayed up with his parents and stared at the sky in awe. He never thought he'd see anything that could quite match it again and yet, here he is.

Bitty’s glowing. It actually hurts his eyes to look directly at him for too long. His discomfort must show on his face because Bitty says, “oops, sorry. I forget to turn down the brightness.”

He dims until there's just a faint halo around him. He's made up of vibrant yellows and cotton candy pinks and it almost looks like there’s actual starlight flickering beneath his skin. Standing in his presence is almost like being bathed by the sun.

“Eric.”

“I know this is a lot to handle but I couldn't keep it from you anymore. I didn't want to. It felt wrong, Jack. All wrong. But how could I explain-” He stops, worries his bottom lip, and refuses to meet Jack’s eye.

“And I wanna marry you. Jack, of course, I want to marry you. I love you so fucking much and-” there are the tears, incandescent and glittering as the fall down his cheeks. It hurts to see Bitty cry. Crushes him to be the one to cause it.

“Eric I-I think I need a moment.”

Bitty practically bolts out of the bed, races from the room in a streak of light. 

\--

It takes Jack about an hour to finally join Bitty in the kitchen. He's the Bitty Jack knows now, blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Go ahead and ask, sweetpea. I know you have questions." Jack leans up against the counter, tries to look Bitty in the eye.

“How'd it happen? Radioactive spider? Toxic waste?” 

“No, none of that. I was born like this. My parents just....aren’t from Earth.” Bitty smiles gently.

“You’re...an alien. You’re from another planet.” Jack tries to wrap his head around it.

“I was born on Earth,” Bitty says softly. "My parents came here for work."

“And the bracelet?” 

Bitty fiddles with it and sighs, “it suppresses my alien DNA. Makes me appear human. Kills the glow.”

“But this isn't what you look like?” 

“It is.” Bitty rushes to say,  “when you take away the alien DNA, this is what I look like. That's why I look like my parents, even like this.”

Jack just nods, taking that information in. 

“Maybe I should stay with Adam and Justin for a few nights? So you can think things over?” 

“What? No. Just. I'm gonna go to practice and I'll be back later. I just, I need some time to think.” Jack rubs at his face. “This is your home too. I'm never gonna make you leave your home, Eric. I love you.”

Bitty nods and wipes his face. “I love you too, Jack.” He presses a soft kiss to Jack’s cheek and heads towards the guest room. Jack's sad to admit he doesn't have the strength to stop him.

He doesn't see Bitty often for the next few days. It kills Jack that they're not their normally happy selves but this is serious right? These things take time. But this is Bitty. His Bitty. Eric’s always had his back, always supported him. Unconditionally. Doesn’t he deserve the same?

Jack misses Bitty. His absence is palpable, felt in all corners of his existence even if they're occupying the same space. His teammates are careful not to mention his dour mood. He keeps playing and plays well. Plays pissed because his boyfriend is a fucking alien and he’s certain that should be a deal breaker but somehow isn't. Of course it isn't. It's Bitty. His Bitty.

He's got to fix this.

“Say you were an asshole about something serious and you wanted to apologize, how would you?”

“Something expensive. Possibly sparkly.” Marty says, dead serious. There’s a chorus of agreements from the other men in the room. Jack's not so sure about that. Bitty’s always appreciated the more emotional aspects of their relationship.

That gives him an idea.

\--

Bitty's sitting on the couch when Jack gets home. He's wearing one of Jack's old sweatshirts and reading something on his tablet.

"Bits? You busy?"

"No, trying to avoid homework really." Bitty's smile is still sad and Jack hates that look.

“Show me again,” Jack says softly. Bitty refuses to meet his eyes.

“Jack. I know it makes you uncomfortable. You don't have to do this.”

“No. I was an ass. You trusted me with something and I failed you. I love you, Eric. All of you. That's always been true.” 

Bitty bites his lip

Bitty’s warm to the touch. Still soft even like this. Jack touches his cheek, allows himself to stand in Bitty’s warmth. 

 

Bitty tastes like sunlight.

**Author's Note:**

> explore more of this AU including Art and babbling. Come tell me what you think!
> 
> http://bittlebarnes.tumblr.com/tagged/runaways-au


End file.
